The Swedish Wool Standard

Practical work methods and value-creating classification system for Swedish wool

©Axfoundation info@axfoundation.se www.axfoundation.se

Written by: Johanna Behrman (Axfoundation) and Linn Lindfred (Circularista AB).

Photo: Axfoundation

Copyright: Axfoundation and Arena Svensk Ull encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this document. Material may be copied, downloaded, and printed for private use, research, and teaching purposes, or for use in non-commercial products or services, provided that appropriate acknowledgement of Axfoundation as the source and copyright holder is given and that Axfoundation’s or Arena Svensk Ull’s endorsements of users’ views, products and services are not implied in any way. This document is managed and updated by the organization

The Swedish Wool Arena (Arena Svensk Ull ekonomisk förening).

Introduction to The Swedish Wool Standard

The Swedish Wool Standard aims to increase the quality of Swedish wool and support the trading of wool on an industrial scale, by creating a common language among all the actors in the Swedish wool value chain

The Swedish Wool Standard consists of a set of working methods and guidelines, including a classification system for Swedish wool. The Swedish Wool Standard aims to simplify and clarify the work along the wool's entire value chain. It can be used in practice by all actors working with Swedish wool on an industrial scale - from farmers and shearers to wool brokers and buyers.

The hands-on methods and guidelines described aim to contribute to effective working methods and ensure the right quality of the wool from farm to sale; the right wool at the right place to the right price. The standard includes descriptions of processes, best practices, and checklists for quality assurance as well as a method for classification of the wool.

The Swedish Wool Standard has been developed by the project partners in The Swedish Wool Initiative, a cross-sectoral collaboration aiming at contributing to the vision of zero waste of Swedish wool. The standard builds on the Norwegian Wool Standard which has been proven successful, and the Swedish standard has been remitted to a wide range of stakeholders working with Swedish wool for input and feedback.

Conditions for The Swedish Wool Market

The Swedish wool market is characterized by several different sheep breeds with a wide variety of wool types. In addition, several smaller sheep farms are geographically scattered across the Swedish countryside. This complicates transport logistics and poses challenges in creating profitable business models throughout the value chain.

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On the other hand, the Swedish wool has great potential. The wool's different properties are an advantage as it can be used for several different purposes, and thus have several different types of buyers with different types of requirements for the product and the raw material. However, Swedish wool is still perceived as a raw material that exists in small volumes, in geographically dispersed locations, with different characteristics and uneven quality.

With this in mind, Swedish wool is a hard-to-sell commodity in large volumes, unless the right market conditions are in place. A system for classifying the wool constitutes an important prerequisite for quality assurance and pricing of the raw material as well as for matching each product with the right buyer. A methodology for classifying the wool contributes to creating a common language for the actors in the value chain and facilitates the trading of the raw material. However, it is central that such a classification system considers the specific market conditions for Swedish wool.

Swedish wool is hard to treat in the same way as international wool in the production steps from raw material to product due to its varying quality and often special character. The Swedish Wool Standard takes into account that Swedish wool has different properties and areas of use and acknowledges the differences between breeds and between younger and older sheep. While the quality of the wool partly depends on breed characteristics, it can also be largely affected by the care and handling during shearing and sorting. By producing the best wool possible, the wool becomes a product that is attractive to the fashion, outdoor, and home textile industries

the Swedish wool was thrown away in 2020.

The quality of the wool is affected by the type of pasture the sheep grazed on before shearing, the shearing timing, and the health status of the sheep.

Source: The Swedish Sheep Breeding Association

Wool Production: Recommendations for Farmers and Shearers

The Shearing Process

The following checklists aim to simplify the work for farmers and shearers and ensure that the shearing results in wool of the highest, most valuable quality possible. The recommendations are based on information from, among others, the Swedish Sheep Breeding Association, and the Swedish Sheep Shearing Association.

• Shearing sheep twice a year is preferable. While one shearing per year gives longer fiber length, it comes at the cost of wool which is often too tangled and bulky to be used in the textile industry.

• The timing for shearing is important. A good rule is before mating and before lambing. Never shear later than 1 month before the start of lambing. Ensure to never shear a sheep during lactation or illness.

• If the sheep need to be color marked, be sure to mark their heads. Color -marked wool may otherwise be sorted out since the marking color cannot be washed off

Preparations

• Book a sheep shearer well in advance.

• Minimize plant residues, straw, and feed residues in the wool.

• Ensure that the sheep are dry, gathered, and empty in their stomachs.

• Sort the sheep by breed, color, ewes, rams, or lambs. Place the white and light -colored sheep closest.

• Arrange a well-lit, draft-free, even, and clean shearing area.

• Create a holding pen adjacent to the shearing area. Adjust the size of the pen for easy handling of the animals.

• Set up sorting tables, plastic rakes, brooms, and sacks for packing the wool.

• Ensure an adequate number of helpers for sheep and wool handling.

Ensuring clear roles of responsibility of the helpers, the easier the shearing will be for sheep owners, helpers, shearers, wool brokers, and sheep. Careful preparations and communication are key factors to reduce the shearing time and obtain wool of the highest possible quality.

During shearing

• Cut the white and bright sheep first.

• Keep track of sheep logistics and minimize waiting time.

• Keep the shearing area clean.

• Avoid second cut for a more even length of wool.

• Sweep the shearing surface thoroughly between each animal.

• The shearer sorts out belly wool

Sorting on Farm

The better the wool is sorted and labeled on the farm, the easier the handling of the wool will be, which in turn enables a better raw material price for the wool.

To improve the quality of the wool, it's advantageous to separate out wool that is highly soiled, contains colored markings, feces, plant debris, or is matted together. The sorted-out wool can be used for purposes other than textile production.

Use sorting tables with grates or slats where second cuts and small debris fall through.

Sorting should be done according to:

• Color: Sheep should be divided into white and colored before shearing.

• Breed: Preferably divide the sheep into breeds before shearing.

Around

30% of the wool harvest is lost in sorting and washing.

• Quality: Sort out very dirty wool, wool that contains a high proportion of plant residues, belly wool, dirty tail wool, very matted wool, and wool from Dorper breeds.

A wool broker should be consulted before packing the wool to ensure the best quality of the raw material and ensure favorable conditions for resource-efficient handling and good payment.

Packing, labelling, and storage of sorted wool:

• Pack only dry wool

• Package the wool depending on the receiving wool broker:

o Large fertilizer sacks (Västkustens Ullinsamling).

o 125 l paper sacks (Ullcentrum)

o IBC cage, paper sacks, or large sacks (Ullkontoret).

• Label the sacks/cages:

o Date, breed, color, ewe’s, ram’s, or lamb’s wool

• Seal the bags tightly and store them in a dry and cool place

The Wool Classification System

Wool classing is the production of uniform, predictable, classes of wool, carried out by examining the characteristics of the wool in its raw state and classing (grading) it accordingly.

The Swedish classification system is the first of its kind and has been developed based on the specific conditions of the Swedish wool market but with the ambition to harmonize with international best practices for grading and classifying wool.

How is the Wool Classification System structured?

The wool is grouped into different quality types based on its characteristics. Categorizing the wool based on similar traits (rather than breed) allows wool from different farms and breeds with similar characteristics to be combined into larger quantities.

Each quality type is divided into several quality classes based on the parameters that define potential application areas for the wool, see more information in the table

The wool classification table (pages 10-12) has a column to the right with examples of breeds that might fit into the various quality types. It is not a complete list, and the character of the wool is more important than the breed, which means that the actual wool included could be from a different breed than the example.

Defining Parameters and Methods of Analysis

Length: The staple length of the stretched wool fiber is measured in millimeters (mm). Estimated by the classifier. Samples can be sent for objective quality control. New Zealand Wool Testing Authority (NZWTA) has developed a method that is widely used and adopted by Wool Testing Authority Europe (WTAE).

Fineness: Measured in microns (µ) which is 1/1000 mm. Various methods for measuring microns are available; some classifiers use portable tools, some classifiers can estimate the fineness based on the feel of the fibers, or samples can be sent for objective quality control using an OFDA instrument (Optical Fiber Diameter Analysis)

Color: Defined as white or pigmented. If the wool is pigmented the classifier describes the color (e.g. medium brown, black). Samples can be sent for objective quality control. International Wool Textile Organization (IWTO) offers a standard for Wool Color Measurement, IWTO 56 (y-z).

Vegetable Matter (VM): Amount of unwanted organic materials such as wood, hay, straw, seeds, chips, and similar. Estimated by the classifier as low, medium, or high. Samples can be sent for objective quality control. IWTO offers a method for analyzing vegetable matter in percentage.

Character: Used to describe the character of the wool to easier enable wool from different farms and breeds to be combined into larger quantities. Subjective assessment by the classifier. Objective quality control is not available.

Wool Classification Table

Type A: Fine fiber wool

Quality Type B: Fine to medium fiber wool

Type C: Medium to coarse fiber wool

Quality Type D: Coarse fiber wool

Quality Type E: Coarse to very coarse fiber wool

Quality Type F: Very coarse fiber wool

Quality Type G: Bulky wool

Quality Type H: “Allmoge” and “Lantraser”

Quality Type I: Outsorted wool (Wool from the belly, thighs, and tail and wool containing a high amount of vegetable matter)

The Swedish Wool Standard is a set of working methods and guidelines, including a classification system for Swedish wool. The standard aims to increase the quality of Swedish wool and to support the trading of wool on an industrial scale, by creating a common language among all the actors in the Swedish wool value chain - from farmers and shearers to wool brokers and buyers. The Swedish Wool Arena (Arena Svensk Ull ekonomisk förening) manages the standard.

The standard has been developed by the project partners in The Swedish Wool Initiative (SWI) - a cross-sectoral collaboration run by Axfoundation and aiming at contributing to the vision of zero waste of Swedish wool. In SWI, a wide range of actors from across the value chain collaborate to build system capacity, scale up the use of Swedish wool and contribute to the transition to a sustainable and circular industry.

Partners in SWI are Axfoundation, Chalmers Industriteknik, Circularista, Filippa K, Fjällräven, Görvälnlammet, IVL Swedish Environmental Institute, Klippan Yllefabrik, LE Ullkonsult, LRF Federation of Swedish Farmers, Norrby farm, Smart Textiles/Science Park Borås, Swedish Sheep Shearing Association, Tiger of Sweden, TrusTrace, Ullcentrum, Ullkontoret, and Västkustens Ullinsamling/CC Wool.

Contact:

Axfoundation

Johan Sidenmark johan.sidenmark@axfoundation.se

Johanna Behrman johanna.behrman@axfoundation.se www.axfoundation.se

@axfoundation

Arena Svensk Ull info@arenasvenskull.se

www.arenasvenskull.se